CHINA pushed back against US President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that its military stole an American naval drone last week, as the Philippines called the seizure off its coast “very troubling.”
The unmanned underwater vehicle was removed in a “responsible in professional manner” to protect shipping, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Monday.
Trump said on Twitter on Saturday that China had “stolen” the drone in an “unprecedented act,” later adding that China should keep it.
“We don’t like the word ‘steal’—the word is absolutely inaccurate,” Hua said at a regular daily briefing, adding that China was still negotiating with the US military about the drone’s return. “This is just like you found a thing on the street, and you have to take a look and investigate it to see if the thing belongs to one who wants it back.”
The Pentagon said a Chinese naval vessel unlawfully seized the drone Thursday while the USNS Bowditch was attempting to collect it about 50 nautical miles northwest of the Philippines’ Subic Bay.
The incident showed how quickly tensions between the nations could escalate as China challenges US naval supremacy in Asia and Trump signals a more confrontational approach to the world’s second-biggest economy.
China claims more than 80 percent of the South China Sea, where it has constructed artificial reefs and built up its military presence. The nearest disputed area of the sea from the latest incident is Scarborough Shoal, which China has controlled since a 2012 standoff with the Philippines, a US security ally that also claims the feature.
In a statement Monday, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the incident was a matter for China and the US to resolve among themselves. Nonetheless, he said, it was “very troubling” because it occurred within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
“Not only does it increase the likelihood of miscalculations that could lead to open confrontation very near the Philippine mainland, but the commission of activities other than innocent passage which impinge upon the right of the Philippines,” Lorenzana said.
China has sought to maintain “strategic composure” in response to Trump’s criticisms of the country’s policies on everything from trade policy to Taiwan. On Monday, Hua suggested the China was holding fire in responding to Trump’s tweets until he takes office.
“Our focus is the US administration’s words, behavior and policies,” Hua said.
“Regarding the postings on Twitter made by US President-elect Mr. Trump, I’ve noticed that there are lots of comments from international community already, and me, as a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, I don’t have extra comments to make.”
At the same time, China is preparing for a deterioration in relations next year. In an editorial last week after Trump questioned the One-China policy, the Global Times warned: “We shall harbor no illusions, and get ready to wrist-fight with Trump.”
“This is a gray area,” the article said. “If the US military can send the drone over, China can certainly seize it.”
On Monday, the newspaper said that the frequency of US surveillance activities in the South China Sea indicates suspicion or hostility toward China.
“Although the US side tried to make light of those underwater drones, it’d be difficult to hide the real intention behind them,” the newspaper said in a front-page commentary.
While the motive for the seizure remains unclear, it’s a concern no matter whether it was ordered from Beijing or the act of a rogue captain, according to Michael Mazza, research fellow in foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
“To me all of these various explanations are troubling,” he said. “If we do learn it was one ship acting on its own that’s not cause for a sigh of relief.”
A top US lawmaker said China may be poring over a seized underwater drone to unearth secret information about Navy technology, hours after President-elect Donald Trump suggested Beijing should “keep it.”
“The Chinese are able to do a thing called reverse-engineering, where they are able to—while they hold this drone, able to find out all of the technical information. And some of it is pretty valuable,” Senator John McCain of Arizona said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The comments by McCain, who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, underscored the US political tensions touched off by China’s decision to scoop up the submersible in international waters in the South China Sea. Assurances from China that the vessel would be returned failed to quiet US critics—including Trump, who initially denounced the snatch-and-grab move and then reversed himself hours later.
Trump said on Twitter late Saturday that “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back – let them keep it!”
Asked about the tweet, Jason Miller, communications director for the Trump transition, said on Fox News Channel that China was likely to return “a chunk of metal and maybe a bag of wires” after holding the drone for several days.
McCain said China’s seizure was “a gross violation of international law,” echoing the US response to the move and Trump’s initial blast via a tweet.
The president-elect told his 17.5 million Twitter followers: “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters—rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act.”
That broadside hit hours after the Chinese government said it had been in touch with the US military about the Dec. 15 incident. The Pentagon said that China will return the vehicle after “direct engagement” between Washington and Beijing.
China’s ministry of defense pledged an “appropriate” return of the drone on its Weibo social media account, while also criticizing the US for hyping the incident into a diplomatic row. It followed assurances from Beijing that the governments were working to resolve the spat.
The drone incident was disclosed by the Pentagon on Friday. China’s ministry said the US “hyped the case in public,” which it said wasn’t helpful in resolving the problem. The US has “frequently” sent its vessels and aircrafts into the region, and China urges such activities to stop, the ministry said in its Weibo message.
The Defense Department said a Chinese naval ship unlawfully seized the small unmanned vehicle Thursday while the USNS Bowditch, a US Navy survey ship, picked up the drone in a routine operation 93 kilometers northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines.
Typically the drones operate under their own power. The Chinese vessel was about 500 yards from the Bowditch when it launched a small vessel to retrieve the drone, according a Defense Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because those details hadn’t been publicly released.
The tensions unleashed by the episode underscored the delicate state of relations between the two countries, weeks before Trump’s inauguration.
Trump has threatened higher tariffs on Chinese products and questioned the US approach to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory. Meanwhile, China is growing more assertive over its claims to disputed sections of the South China Sea.
“China is very sensitive about unmanned underwater vehicles because they can track our nuclear ballistic missile submarines fleet,” said retired Major General Xu Guangyu, a senior researcher at Beijing-based research group the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.
“If one from the Bowditch can be detected and even snatched by a Chinese naval ship, it shows it’s getting too close to the sensitive water areas.”